Athletes and swimmers typically wear tight fitting garments which help decrease air/water resistance which is especially important in competitive events.
During sporting activity, it is desirable to provide support to active muscles to reduce fatigue, and the compressive effect of these known tight-fitting garments provides some limited support. To provide increased support, it is known to provide elastic elements which provide support to muscles in the same manner as selectively bandaging or “taping” the muscle. It is also known to provide elasticity elements on the rear of the thigh which can be elongated (by a bending/flexing motion of the leg) to store energy which is subsequently released to assist movement of the wearer's leg back to its unflexed position.
As well as providing support and assisting the movement of muscles, it is also desirable to support the wearer's hip joint so that pivoting and rotating motions of the leg can be stabilised by keeping the leg adducted (i.e. held in towards the body.)
It is a preferred aim of the present invention to provide a garment which provides increased stability to the wearer's hip joint.